AMIGOS Named International Organization's Chapter of the Month

AMIGOS Eye Care, a nonprofit organization of students and doctors affiliated with the Pacific University College of Optometry, has received national recognition for its international outreach and service to underserved populations.

AMIGOS was named the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity International (VOSH/International) Student Chapter of the Month for May 2019. The recognition comes in response to the four clinic trips it hosted in the past year.

“No doubt the experiences for students have been invaluable for their clinical practice as well as instilling a life-long commitment to the kind of humanitarian efforts long supported by VOSH,” the organization wrote in bestowing the award. “And no doubt you had great joy and sheer fun in your adventures while impacting the lives of more than 1,700 patients.”

Pacific University College of Optometry faculty members, alumni, students and friends participated in three international service trips and one domestic service trip in the past year through AMIGOS Eye Care.

In March, teams went to Costa Rica, Belize and Senegal, rapidly serving large numbers of patients who have had limited access to eye care. Another team traveled along the Columbia River Gorge serving those in need closer to home. These trips came on the heels of winter visits to Senegal and China. 

AMIGOS Eye Care is dedicated to providing quality vision care at no cost to underserved people in the Portland area and throughout the world and is affiliated with VOSH/International, whose primary mission is to facilitate the provision and sustainability of vision care worldwide to people who can neither afford nor obtain such care.